Spirit Of The Forest
by igirisexual
Summary: Ivan is the average lumberjack. He is working a job where he and his workmates are to clear a previously untouched forest. Everything is as usual until he comes across a small and crying man. This man, however, is not what he seems, and turns everything in Ivan's world - views, respects, life - to a new page in this storybook of fate. RoChu. Forest Spirit!Yao. Lumberjack!Ivan.
1. Chapter 1

Ivan took his side of the two-man saw, just as he always did. He faced his work partner – as irritated as doing so made him feel – and carried the tool towards a thick trunk. It was the same as any other day.

"We don't get paid enough for this," Alfred muttered, looking incredibly morose at the prospect of work.

"Not enough is better than nothing," Ivan retorted softly. They were not the only ones sawing in the area here; other groups and pairs had set off to begin clearing in different places. More than half of this forest was to go.

Ivan didn't particularly think it was very wise to be going about and causing deforestation like this, but he was paid for his work as a lumberjack, and the money was quite needed. He was smart, and he could have gotten degrees in science or music. Alas, he had been too poor to attend a university, and he still was. This job was the best he was going to get with his physical skillset. As he and Alfred got to work on sawing the hulk of wood in front of them, Ivan's stomach rumbled.

"Dude, wanna break for lunch?" Alfred chirped, although he didn't wait for an answer; he scampered off, abandoning the saw. Ivan let out a soft sigh. Alfred was quite precocious, but he was also erratic and hyperactive. As he went to follow after him, he heard soft whimpering.

"Hello?" he called quietly, walking towards the origin of the sound. "Is someone there?" After walking a dozen steps forward, Ivan's eyes fell upon a meek man, face sheltered with a thick brown hood. "Excuse me, sir, is everything alright?" he asked softly, crouching. Now that their faces were closer, he could see that the man was crying. "Sir?"

"Get away from me," the man snarled harshly, throwing his hands forward and fiercely scratching Ivan's arm with too-sharp fingernails. "You're disgusting."

"What?" Ivan gasped, taking a sharp step backward and holding where the man had scratched him. "What was that for?!" There was a moment of pause, and then the man looked up, a hint of craze in his morose amber eyes.

"Murderer!" the man cried, getting up from where he was sitting and grabbing the material of Ivan's shirt. "I can smell the blood all over you! Murderer!"

"I couldn't hurt a fly!" he whimpered, frightened by the stranger's actions.

"Then why have you murdered so many! Killer!" the man shouted, aggressively pushing Ivan and slamming him into a tree trunk. "Disgusting!"

"I am not a killer!" Ivan yelped, helpless as he was forced up against the trunk. "Please, there's no need to attack me like this!" Slowly, the stranger released him, and simply stood in front of him.

"You're a killer," he muttered. "The trees are crying for their fallen, they're crying because of you," he spat, gritting his serrated teeth.

"The trees?" he mumbled. "O-oh, I-.. I'm just doing my job!" Ivan huffed, taking a lame step back.

"Your.. job?" the man tilted his head, and as he did so, strands of long copper hair became visible out from under the hood. "What kind of job involves murdering innocents and dividing families?"

"I assure you, I'm doing no such thing," Ivan huffed quietly. "Please, sir, calm down."

"Why would you work as a tree-cutter?" the stranger growled, although his temper had been soothed a fair bit.

"I don't do it because I enjoy it," he stated. "I only do it because I need the money. Now, who are you?"

The man stepped forward and sniffed about Ivan, crinkling his nose every now and then as he smelled something unsavoury. "Hm.. You don't smell foul like the others.. I deem you a worthy voice," the man nodded, and removed his hood. Ivan's jaw dropped, and he took a little step back. Prong-like horns jutted out from the man's head, and green pointed ears protruded from where normal human ones would have been. "My name is Yao."

"W-what-" Ivan stammered, pointing to the ears and horns in shock. Now that he could see it, Yao's hair was revealed to be long and braided at the back, with flowers decorating it here and there. Yao seemed not to notice Ivan's discomfiture, and simply licked his fingers.

"Your blood is surprisingly pure," he gasped, and his ears flickered. Fretting, Ivan looked down to his arm, and where Yao had scratched him before were three thick gashes, almost as if a lion had clawed at him. He was bleeding, yes, but not very profusely. "May I have some more?"

"_What_ are you," Ivan whimpered, staggering back and covering his arm. "Are you human?"

"Please," Yao whined, taking steps towards him and looking up at him with innocent eyes. "C'mon, it's been so long since I've had pure human blood to taste."

"Please leave me alone!" Ivan cried, pushing himself up against the same trunk he had just been thrown against.

"Usually it's just yucky animal blood," he cringed, and licked hungrily at his fingers, trying to get whatever was left of Ivan's blood off and onto his tongue. "Please!"

"Answer my questions!" demanded Ivan, although his cowardice shone through his false bravery. "What are you?!"

"Oh," laughed Yao, pressing himself up against Ivan. "I am a forest spirit. The guardian of this particular area. And you are to be my voice."

"Your voice?" he stammered, turning his head when Yao leant in towards his neck. "You have a voice, you're talking now!"

"If any other human walked by us right now, they would only see or hear you," Yao explained quietly, dragging his coarse tongue up the side of Ivan's throat. "Not many can see my kind anymore. Now, your blood, please."

"P-please get off of me," Ivan whimpered, not sure whether to laugh or cry. "You're making me very uncomfortable."

"Aw," Yao sighed, stepping back and simply putting a hand to Ivan's chest. "Being my voice means that you're to carry on my messages and will to the humans. You're a murderer, like they are, so perhaps they will listen to you."

"Please stop calling me a murderer," he sighed weakly. "You don't realise how weird asking someone else for their blood is?" he mumbled, cringing. "If I do this voice thing or whatever it is, will you stop bothering me?"

"Oh, heavens no." Yao mused. "You don't have a choice in this, and I'll bother you either way, you disgusting murderer," he laughed. "Blood please."

Slowly, fearfully, Ivan lifted his bloodied arm, and Yao grabbed it, before promptly dragging him away. As much as Ivan tried to resist, Yao was incredibly strong for his size and could drag Ivan away with ease. When Ivan finally stopped being dragged, he was plopped in a grassy cleft and ushered to sit down. "Here," sighed Yao. "It doesn't smell like death as much here." He sat down, picked up Ivan's arm, and waited for some kind of signal.

Ivan, incredibly nervous and frightful, simply glanced down to Yao, the forest spirit, the hermit, whatever he really was. He wondered when he'd wake up from this ludicrous dream. Yao took this as his signal, and began to hungrily lick at Ivan's wounds, getting red smears to either side of his mouth. He finished his cleaning, drinking, whatever it was, and sat back up properly, licking his lips. "You humans, oh boy," he chirped.

"Okay," mumbled Ivan, glaring down at his arm and biting his lip. "That was weird and slightly terrifying."

"It was tasty!" Yao exclaimed, leaning forward childishly and grinning. Now that he was on his knees, Ivan noticed a swishing whip-like tail behind Yao, and he almost jumped. He then remembered that this was obviously most definitely a dream, so he dismissed it as his mind's creation. "Oh, you're like a buffet of deliciousness," he cried, tail lashing back and forth excitedly. "I'm very glad you're the one who's going to be my voice!"

"Okay.." he said quietly, trying to act calmly until he awoke. Which he surely would. This was a dream. "Uhm, I should probably go back to the others. They'd worry if I'm away."

"Oh!" Yao gasped, sitting back down. With his sharp fingernails, he sliced a clump of grass, and handed the tips over to Ivan. "Here you go. Follow the scent of this back here when you return to me tomorrow!"

Ivan, terribly confused, took the grass and sniffed it for good measure. It smelled odd, a little like milk and honey. "Uh, alright." He murmured, standing up. Fortunately, Yao did not stand as well, simply remained sitting there in the sweet-smelling grass, grinning up at Ivan with bloodstained lips.

"I'll see you then," Yao purred, flicking his tail back and forth even faster, giving the impression of being happy or pleased.

Confused and addled, Ivan stood and began to walk off back in the direction of the other lumberjacks. He paused in his tread and turned, only to catch a glimpse of Yao purring and rolling around in the grass like a feline would around a patch of catnip. This had to be one of the weirdest dreams he had ever experienced. For now, he stowed the grass away in one of his pockets, and trundled back.

"Dude, where'd you go?" gasped Alfred as he caught sight of Ivan, hurrying up to his workmate and huffing. "You like disappeared! And what happened to your arm, oh my god-"

Ivan, under the assumption that this was in fact a dream, grabbed Alfred's face in his hand, and brashly shoved him away. Oh, boy, he wished he could've been doing that in real life. "I am going home," he stated in a huff, before charging out of the forestry and doing just as he had said.

When he awoke the next morning to the smell of honey and milk, Ivan blinked his eyes open, only to find that the grass from his breast pocket had fallen out and landed near his face. Oh, fucking shit. That was _not_ a dream.

* * *

**hello new fic**

**ok so i kind of lost all muse for i cant imagine life without you and im sorry**

**but like i have LOTS OF INSPIRATION for this idea ;))**


	2. Chapter 2

He headed into work that day with a pounding nervous headache. He had thrown out the sweetgrass in a fit of silent anger, and bandaged his arm. _Alright_, he thought, _if that wasn't a dream, am I going crazy?_ Ivan was rather petulant as he arrived at the forest mouth to group with the other lumberjacks.

"Ivan!" Alfred cried, running over to him and kicking him in the shin. "That's for yesterday!" he huffed, watching angrily as Ivan didn't even flinch.

"I am sorry about the shoving," he sighed. No he wasn't. "I wasn't really myself yesterday."

"I was like totally all worried about you and stuff," Alfred argued, crossing his arms angrily. "'Cos you disappeared!"

"I got lost, I suppose."

They returned to where they had been sawing yesterday, with Ivan rolling up his sleeves and working hard, despite the summer heat beating down on his back. As he and Alfred sawed through half of the tree's trunk, he suddenly slowed down his pace, and let go of the saw entirely. Yao's words rang in his head, words about murdering and killing and dividing families.

"Dude, what now?" Alfred groaned. "This is like the third time you've spaced out."

"Sorry," Ivan frowned, and got back to work.

Only a few minutes later did Ivan feel something strike his back. "Ow-" he muttered, although ignored it. Seconds after that, another. A minute later, two more. He stopped sawing and looked up, gasping at the sight of the forest spirit sitting innocently on a high-up branch. Yao was holding a collection of small stones and acorns, and those appeared to be what he had been tossing down. He was smiling too, the smug bastard.

"Ivan!" barked Alfred annoyingly, but Ivan was a bit distracted.

"Hello!" greeted Yao rather loudly. "Shall we go and talk, now that I have your attention?" he laughed, and leapt from his branch, landing on the ground with elegance.

"I can't right now," hissed Ivan, glancing awkwardly to Alfred on the other side of the trunk.

"Of course, because you're being a disgusting killer," Yao laughed almost irritably. "We're going. Finish up here."

"Yao-"

"Okay, who the heck are you talking to?" asked Alfred, who had abandoned his end of the saw to stand closer to Ivan and simply observe. "Yao?" Ivan let out a soft groan.

"I'm talking to myself," he lied.

"Oh, I'm hurt," gasped Yao, dancing to behind Ivan and digging his nails into either of his shoulders. Ivan jumped at the sudden contact, but didn't make any sound.

"You're not making it easier," he muttered under his breath.

"Not making what easier?" groaned Alfred, staggering forward and kicking Ivan in the other shin. "God fricking damn it."

"Watch yourself, Yankee," Ivan threatened bluntly, giving him a glare.

Alfred backed down and crossed his arms. "Yeah, well, I'm gonna go chop some younger trees or whatever until you've decided to stop being a loonie." And he stormed off, muttering curses upon Ivan's name.

"He is positively disgusting," whispered Yao against the back of Ivan's neck.

"Do you mind!" Ivan squeaked, shocked at the sudden warm breath upon his skin.

"You don't smell like the honeygrass anymore," Yao observed in a whine, throwing his arms around Ivan's neck and letting his hands rest at the man's chest. "Did you eat it? I cannot blame you. It's delicious. You must've eaten it, that is obviously why you did not seek me out sooner!" Yao laughed pompously. Ivan opened his mouth to protest, but quickly realised he wouldn't win against the pesky forest spirit. "Well! Let us go to the sweetgrass patch!"

Without a moment's notice, Yao had leapt up onto Ivan's back, with Ivan surprised and scrambling to support the spirit so that he would not fall. "Is this necessary?" Ivan mumbled weakly, holding Yao's legs up as they hooked around his front.

"Absolutely," assured Yao, smiling and pointing forward as to where he wanted his little steed to go. "Onward, my lovely pureblood!" Ivan let out a weak sigh and carried him to the little bluff of grass where they'd been yesterday, and put him down.

"I scratched your shoulders, can I have your blood?" Yao asked bluntly as he flopped down into the grass, laying just in front of Ivan, who was sitting cross-legged. "Please! Pretty please, you're delicious."

"No blood until you give me some answers," Ivan said firmly, although the words were still weird and foreign as they rolled off of his tongue. "What's your whole deal with this voice thing?"

Yao yawned and rolled onto his side to face Ivan. "My, my, I do wish to discuss business, but I'm hungry. What a shame, I cannot think with such a famished mind!"

"Now you're putting it on," Ivan murmured. "What happened to being so serious?"

"What happened is that you're fun to exploit," Yao answered simply, sitting up. "That, and you are a rare delicacy that is very hard to find nowadays." Ivan grumbled and rolled up his sleeves a little more, offering his wound to Yao.

"Just tell me about the voice thing."

Yao perked up and bounced to his hands and knees, leaning in to lick at Ivan's shoulder. "You're to be-" he paused to continue lapping at the scratches. "My voice, I said that-"

"Yes, I know."

"Because your kind, murderers-"

"We aren't murderers."

"-Murderers, are destroying the forest and the life within it." Yao finished taking Ivan's blood, and positioned himself to be sitting in his lap.

"You may not be able to hear it with your feeble ears," he murmured, flicking at Ivan's ear with forefinger and thumb. "But every time a tree is wounded or cut, they scream in agony. They bleed into the air around. The animals living within the trees or plants, they are left without a home, and they simply die." Yao said quietly, becoming much more sullen than he had been previously. "Your kind cause nothing but destruction and hate. This forest is all I have left of what used to be a full-thriving kingdom."

"Oh," murmured Ivan, looking awkwardly down at the spirit sitting on his legs. "I'm afraid that it has to be done, for progress-"

"Progress!" spat Yao, narrowing his eyes and clutching at the material of Ivan's shirt. "Is that what the murderers call it! They seem to forget that the trees give them the clean air they take for granted! Without these trees, without my forest, they wouldn't even be able to breathe!"

Ivan frowned, finding this all a little depressing. "And what does this have to do with me?"

"You're to be my voice, as they cannot hear me," Yao muttered, tail lashing dangerously. His ears were flattened against the sides of his head, clearly showing his anger and upset. "You must tell them to stop, to stop wounding me and my forest like this! Get them to stop!" he demanded hoarsely.

"You don't need to yell," Ivan said meekly. "What, are you saying I should quit my job and protest?"

"Yes," he answered, headbutting Ivan's chest surprisingly gently. "Don't make me take control of your body. I have one last thing I will use to convince you, though."

"What would that be?" Ivan asked worriedly.

"I can show you the gift of sight," Yao huffed, simply resting his cheek against Ivan's chest and gently whapping his fluffy tailtip against Ivan's knee. "Not for very long, as it is a draining process to share, but I can offer you the sight for a minute at best. Although I doubt you would stand it for that long."

"What exactly is 'the gift of sight'? You say it like it's frightening." Ivan murmured.

"You will see how I see," he sighed. "You will see the forest for how it truly is. I cannot allow you to look at me when I show you this sight, okay? I would frighten you."

"Is there something I have to do before I can use 'the sight'?" Ivan mumbled. "I'd assume it doesn't come cheap."

"I just need your name and some more of your blood," Yao nodded, letting his hand drift up the bottom of Ivan's shirt.

"Uhm," he sighed. "My name is Ivan Braginsky. Just.. Try not to make it hurt." Yao smiled wickedly and gently dragged his fingernails down Ivan's skin, tearing four thin lines down his stomach. "You're a sadist," he accused quietly, but simply cringed and bore it. He was obviously going insane. Obviously. None of this was even real, he reminded himself.

Ivan lifted his shirt, frowning a little as Yao went about licking at these fresh wounds. "Why exactly do you need my blood this time? Simply because it tastes nice?"

"No!" huffed Yao, angling his head up and glaring at Ivan. "You think me shallow, don't you! I am doing so because to perform the ritual to grant you temporary sight, I must have a physical connection with you, and your blood being tasty is just a convenient bonus." He finished and wiped his mouth, before letting out a content sigh and batting Ivan's shirt back down. "Okay, that should be enough.. This may sting a little. Wait a minute, you're human. It will hurt." Quivering, Ivan nodded.

"I can handle it." he murmured.

Yao slithered out of Ivan's lap, sitting cross-legged in the basket position, mirroring the human in front of him. His pupils became contracted and he spoke hushed words in a tongue that Ivan had never heard before. He understood his name within the chants every now and then. When Yao stopped whispering, he looked up, and Ivan was a little shocked to see tears of blood in the corners of Yao's eyes. "Now!" he cried, clapping his hands down on Ivan's shoulders and leaning in, pressing their foreheads together. There was a surge of pain within the Russian's body, and he squeezed his eyes firmly shut.

* * *

**cliffhanger 6w6**


	3. Chapter 3

When Ivan's eyes finally flickered open, he let out a sharp gasp. What he saw was magnificent. Instead of colours staying to their boundaries, everything had a bright and hazy glow to it. It was brilliant, simply beautiful. But then, after staring forward into the trees, something felt terribly wrong. He could see something, a system almost like veins pulsing through each trunk, and the sound of it made his head hurt. But then, there was an ear-piercing scream, and Ivan stumbled up to his feet.

He was drawn to it, and he was unsure why. When he reached the origin of the cry, he froze up at the sight of Alfred. No, Alfred wasn't the one who had screamed out. He was uprooting a sapling, tearing its roots straight out of the ground. The veins that Ivan had seen in other trees were bursting out, splattering stains of tawny orange upon the ground. He quickly realised that the orange substance would be the tree's 'blood'. He felt sick at the visualization, and took a staggered step back. Had Alfred not seen him? He bit his lip and tried to move closer, but more screams interrupted his train of thought.

Ivan found himself once again running towards them, although this time, he dropped to his knees, clutching at his ears. The high-pitched wailing was agony; his human ears could not take such high frequencies. He opened his eyes, staring up at the darkened forest only lit by the sickly glowing trunks. They were wailing, crying out in pain as men worked in pairs to saw at them, just as Ivan had been doing the other day. Not even knowing why, Ivan found tears streaming down his cheeks, and he felt as if he was going to vomit. "Make it stop!" he cried, falling and curling himself up into a ball. "S-stop!"

Only a second later did the screaming stop, and Ivan jolted in surprise. When he opened his eyes, he found Yao slumped against his chest, asleep. It seemed that he was back where he had been before. Or perhaps, his body had never left. "That was horrible," he said quietly, hands curling around the spirit's back simply for the sake of comforting him – even if he was sleeping, and could not feel it. "I think I understand now."

Perhaps Yao had never been fully asleep, as he slowly lifted his arms and put them as far around Ivan's back as he could. "You humans are disgusting murderers," he said drowsily, words sluggish. "I am too worn out for this right now."

"We are, I suppose," Ivan concurred softly, keeping his hands as gentle as he could. "My ears still hurt."

"I did warn you."

"So you did." he murmured. "Here, roll over in my lap," Ivan instructed in a hushed voice, too upset and distraught to have any thoughts of work. What he had seen was at first fantastical, but it had turned macabre in hardly any time at all. Yao seemed like he wanted to protest, but did as asked, pressing his back up against Ivan's front and letting his tail flick lazily in front of them. And now, Ivan's arms snaked around his front, as if he was to keep Yao safe. Yao flinched for a moment, and tried to work out what was going on, but after a moment of thought curled his arms around both of Ivan's.

"Are you going to be my voice?" Yao asked quietly, content just resting here until he regained his strength.

"Yes," answered Ivan, making the brave move to lean his head forward and rest his chin inbetween Yao's horns. "I thought I had no choice in it?"

"I kid, Ivan," he scoffed, although his voice was quiet and lacking a certain vigor. "I have always given humans a choice."

"Alright, that's one question answered." He sighed. "Are your eyes alright?"

"My eyes-"

"They were bleeding."

"Oh, yes," he mumbled, moving his head to softly gnaw on one of Ivan's arms. It was more of a gentle nibble every now and then, really. A token of his affection, he decided. "Sometimes, I over-exert myself, and my body must pay the toll," Yao sighed. "I fear I may go blind someday."

"Oh," Ivan mumbled. "I'm sorry for asking."

"No, no, it is understandable that a feeble human does not understand," he hummed quietly, wiping the drying blood from his cheeks. "Do not judge yourself too harshly."

"Thanks," Ivan said sarcastically.

"You are welcome," Yao assured, resuming his soft bites to Ivan's arms and hands. "You taste like salt. That's nice."

"When do you want me to start these tasks?" Ivan queried, clearly nervous by the way his voice shook. "I'm not sure if I'll even be able to get through to anyone, and what am I going to do about money-"

"Quiet," Yao interrupted. "You will start when you are ready. I am not as pushy as you may think, human." He batted his tail against Ivan's knee, and bit his arm a touch harder. "I _can_ read what you are thinking, after all."

Ivan bit his lip and pushed all thoughts of the forest spirit being cute out of his head. "W-why didn't you tell me this earlier!" he gasped, flinching.

"I cannot," Yao laughed, craning his neck back to grin up at Ivan. "I kid, as I have said. You are much to easy to tease!"

"You're a real piece of work," he murmured, sighing.

"About beginning my tasks, you must do it before too long, I will warn you," Yao huffed, leaning back against the lumberjack. "The trees cannot take too many of their young dying like that."

"I see," Ivan nodded, shifting his hands conveniently away from Yao's mouth, and letting his hands rest on the spirit's stomach. He was kind of wondering if he'd get slapped or something. Instead of being whacked or battered, he only heard Yao elicit a little cat-like purr. "Are you purring?" he asked in disbelief.

"No," huffed Yao, although obvious that he was. "I am not."

"What's that rumble in your throat, then? I can feel it, your neck is against my chest." Ivan argued, tilting his head.

"I said I am not, and that means I am not!" Yao protested, leaning forward and then crawling out of Ivan's lap. "Do not disrespect me, human!"

"My apologies," Ivan said quietly, raising a brow. "I didn't mean to offend." There was a moment of silence, where Yao flopped down in the sweetgrass and looked away from Ivan.

"Ivan," he huffed, tail lashing down against the grass. "Do that again."

"What-"

"I said, again! That is an order!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" squeaked Ivan, throwing his hands up in defense. "I'm sorry, what do you want from me!"

"Do what you were doing before!" Yao commanded, pale face flushing bright red.

"You mean hugging you?" Ivan asked meekly.

"N-no! The belly thing!"

"Oh," Ivan laughed softly. "Well, lay down or something," he murmured, shifting his position so that he was sitting on folded legs. Yao obeyed, laying down on his back and promptly staring at Ivan. Hesitantly, Ivan lifted the bottom of Yao's baggy shirt, only to have his hand slapped.

"What do you think you are doing!" he growled defensively, baring his teeth at Ivan.

"Would you like a belly rub or not?" Ivan asked, tilting his head, curious.

Yao hesitantly let down his guard, still growling softly at Ivan. His growls quickly turned to happy purrs as Ivan gently ran his fingers along Yao's stomach, much like he would a cat or dog. Ivan smiled a little, even chuckling when Yao's leg kicked in a second of spasm. Yes, definitely like a dog. They stayed like that for a little while, until it was getting to be afternoon, and the sky was painted pink and orange.

"Ivan?" asked Alfred, who stood between trees and stared to the man in the sweetgrass. "Who are you talking to?"

* * *

**cliffhanger again?! **


	4. Chapter 4

Ivan turned, sweating bullets. Of course Alfred had come. Ivan had been missing almost all day, hadn't he? "Myself," Ivan mumbled, and Yao crawled up into his lap, almost defensively. He was snarling up at Alfred, it seemed.

"No you weren't!" Alfred growled, putting his hands on his hips. "Who's 'Yao'? Fucksake, Ivan, I can tell when you're lying."

"I was talking to myself," he murmured, glancing up to Alfred. His intimidating stare seemed to be transparent at the moment.

"What the hell is going on with you!?" the American grunted, taking a staggered step forward with clenched fists.

"I'm quitting my job," Ivan said hushedly, resting his hands on Yao's back. "I-.. I'm going to start being an activist. I can't stand for this anymore."

"Are you crazy?" Alfred grunted, not hesitating and charging forward to take Ivan by the shoulder. "What the fuck happened?"

"I saw," Ivan answered softly. "For the first time, I saw."

"Ivan!" Alfred snarled, shoving him. "Just listen, you can't quit like that! Please, I'm worried about you, you fucking asshole!" he cried, slumping where he stood. "You know I love you, whether you're a crazy bastard or not,"

"I do know, as you know I don't and won't return your feelings." Ivan said bluntly, looking to the spirit in his lap. "We've been over this. Just leave me alone."

"Come back to work!" he ordered, huffing and infuriated now. "Stop this right now!"

Yao, unable to keep his temper, jumped forward and dug his teeth into Alfred's leg. He yelped in pain and surprise, stumbling backwards and letting out another cry when he fell. "What the fuck!"

"I am sorry," Ivan commented, watching as the American got back up to his feet and backed away. "I'll return to the site later." But not as a lumberjack, he thought. Nervously, he glanced to Yao, who was snarling at Alfred and lashing his tail with resentment. Was he making the right choice? Probably not. But when else in a man's lifetime does he get to meet a forest spirit and be picked for such a task as being its voice? Pretty much never.

As Alfred scampered off, frightened and confused, Ivan simply pet between Yao's horns and tried to confer with himself as to if he was making the most of this situation. After a while, he opened his mouth to speak. "I should go, Yao," he announced quietly. "About these tasks of yours.."

"Yes? What of them?"

"I shall begin tomorrow."

* * *

When Ivan returned to the forest the next morning, Yao was waiting for him by the edge of the trees. "Good morning," he greeted, flicking his tail excitedly before bounding over to Ivan. "Are you excited?"

"Morning. Not particularly," he frowned, petting the top of Yao's head when his arms wrapped around him. "I'm scared more than anything. I just don't know what to say."

"Oh! It will be simple, I will feed you your lines, you must simply repeat after me." Yao hummed. "Would you like to eat some sweetgrass?"

"No, sorry."

"Talking to yourself again?" Alfred frowned as he strode onto the worksite. "Are you okay, Ivan?"

"I'm fine," he nodded, glancing down to Yao. "Today is my first day of protesting, I've got jitters."

"You could just snap out of it and start working again."

"I'm afraid it's too late," he said with a sad smile. "I've already filled in the papers to quit this job."

As the other workers arrived, Yao pulled Ivan over to beside where Alfred was chopping at an old and thick oak; this was to be the site of protest. Yao hid away behind Ivan, probably deafened by the tree's screeching. Well, at least, his ears were flattened to the sides of his head, and he was clutching tightly to Ivan's shirt.

"The trees are crying," Yao started quietly, nudging Ivan to echo his words. He did just that, even though his words were shaky at first. "They are crying, and they are bleeding!" Yao was now whimpering, perhaps in fright, perhaps in sadness. "You take away the staple for life, and you use it for stupid things! You do not care about the forest, so you obviously do not care about your petty lives!" Ivan's eyes narrowed slightly at Yao's turns of phrase, but let it go. "Stop destroying homes and lives! Stop this travesty!"

"Shut up," groaned Alfred, who put down his axe a moment to go over and punch Ivan's shoulder. "I don't give a shit, so stop trying to force thoughts into my head," he sighed.

This was basically how the 'protests' went for the next two days. No progress had been made, and Yao cried to Ivan that it was not working, and how his little heart felt shattered at the thought of losing his home. Ivan did his best to comfort him, even willingly offering his blood to cheer Yao up. 'It will be alright' he had said. 'They'll start listening soon.'

The third day of protesting was spent by the same old oak, one that Alfred had almost finished cutting down. Yao was in despair already, seeing young saplings utterly destroyed. He hid in a treetop this day, and watched a few of the lumberjacks crushing the baby trees with their boots, and then laugh about it. Blinded by rage and forgetting Ivan completely, he leapt to the ground, using otherworldly strength to slam into it, and cause it to rumble.

Ivan heard a creak and glanced up, eyes widening in terror as the ground beneath him shook. He was frozen to the spot, legs rooted in place, and body crippled by fear.

This, my dear readers and friends, is where everything went wrong.

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**hahah not even one review? not even one? **

**[flops about on the ground like a dying fish]**


	5. Chapter 5

The tottering oak fell, striking Ivan's middle and crushing him against the ground. He let out a cry, albeit only Yao's name was what he shouted. The pain in his lower half was enough to make him wish for death, but it quickly disappeared, and the pain just pulsated throughout the rest of his body.

Yao came running. At the sight of Ivan downed by the trunk, his heart stopped. "Ivan!" he wailed, scurrying up to his side, eyes wider than plates. "Ivan!"

"Yao," Ivan returned in a hoarse whisper, smiling up at him kind of sadly. "Hello."

"I-Ivan, it's going to be alright, I can save you-"

"I can't even feel the most part of my body," he commented softly, simply staring at the hulking mass on top of him with half-lidded eyes. "Everything hurts and I'd rather just die."

"No!" yelped Yao, pulling Ivan's hair gently. "I-I'll save you, stop saying stuff like that!.. This is all my fault, I-"

"Don't blame yourself," Ivan sighed.

"But-"

"Don't." He tried to turn his head to look at Yao, and gave a faint smile. "I'm so tired, Yao."

"Ivan, stop joking around!" Yao commanded in a growl, grabbing the man's shoulders and shaking them gently. "Hey, do not close your eyes!"

"I'm sorry." Ivan said, before letting his eyes droop shut, and head lull to the side. Sweet dreams, Ivan.

"No!" grunted Yao, tugging more fiercely at Ivan's hair. "Stop it, you cannot die! You are my voice, I-.." he trailed off, realising how selfish that sounded. "You cannot die, Ivan, I enjoy your company too much! It has been much too long since I have found someone who can even see me, let alone fill my heart with such joy," he mumbled quickly, biting his lip. There was one final option.

He needed strength. As such, he released his human form, and let his true self take shape. Using thick shoulders and sharp teeth, he shoved and then picked up the trunk, tossing it away from Ivan's body. He was panicking, still, but forced himself to try and calm down, for the lumberjack's sake. He then returned to Ivan, and took a deep breath.

Yao closed his eyes and leant down, pressing his nose to Ivan's and whispering various words of enchantment and magic. This was a dangerous process, but Yao, in his reckless and despaired state, did not care. Growling softly, he finished reciting that one forbidden spell, and cared not when it felt as if his soul was being torn from him. By the end of the process, he could hardly breathe, and blacked out shortly. Putting your life force into another being was hard work.

It took around an hour for Ivan to wake. He sat up with a jolt and a gasp, eyes wide as memory flashed through him. He turned quickly, looking for Yao. When he did, his eyes fell upon a hulking creature of dark green fur and sunny gold mane, one that could only be labeled a dragon. The beast was, in fact, the size of a large bus. "W-what are you-" The creature opened its eyes, which had small trails of blood from either corner. It lifted its head from where it had been laying, and parted its massive jaws.

"Who do you think," it spoke, and Ivan recognized the voice immediately.

"Yao?!"

"This is the form I did not want you to see, but I do not have the energy to appear human again right now. I have spent most of my life force on you, Ivan."

Ivan quickly got to his feet, remembering only a blur of the tree falling. "B-but.. Didn't I-…"

"You died," Yao said quietly, slithering towards Ivan and looking down at him with slitted reptilian eyes. "I saved you. You should be grateful."

"I am, I'm just.. Are you okay?" Ivan queried anxiously, taking a frightened step towards the creature and reaching up to pet his nose. Yao allowed that, and pressed up against Ivan's little hand like a dog would its master's.

"I will recover," Yao murmured. "You are not repulsed? Or frightened?"

"I'm a little surprised, but that's it." Ivan stated softly. "I certainly didn't expect you to be a dragon."

"Surprise," said Yao sarcastically. "But there are more pressing matters at hand. Ivan, I don't think this forest is going to be saved."

"No, I'm sure I can convince-"

"It's too late for that, Ivan." Even on his draconic face, Yao's melancholy smile became visible. "You've tried, and all that's happened is ignorance. You were not a suitable voice."

"I tried, I-"

"I should be leaving this place," Yao interrupted. "I am sorry for causing you so much trouble, little man."

"Yao, wait," Ivan mumbled. "Where are you going? Is it far?"

"I must find a new home, before this one is destroyed. Somewhere where these trees have spread."

"Would it work if trees were moved from here to there?" Ivan tilted his head, putting his hands on the dragon's furry cheeks.

"An odd question. Yes, I think." Yao dipped his head, nipping at Ivan's hair. "Why, do you have some inkling of an idea?"

"I'll take the saplings from here to there," Ivan insisted. "'There' can be the yard around the back of my house. It won't be very big, but I can grow you a new home."

Yao snorted, puffing air toward Ivan. "Would you really bother that much for a spirit you met only a handful of days ago?"

"I'd rather rescue you than let you get lost," the lumberjack nodded, tilting his head to the spirit.

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**one more chapter to go yayyy**

**thanks for ur reviews guys im just an attention-seeking egg who has self-esteem drops when there are like 0 reviews**


	6. Chapter 6

Over the next few days, Ivan rescued various saplings from being destroyed, and planted them back in his garden. Yao tried visiting, but the air was simply too weak for him, and he slunk back to the forest. As the trees in Ivan's yard began to grow tiny leaves, the forest was cut down and shredded. Yao migrated to Ivan's yard.

He didn't need to be fed, as apparently, dragons can live off one meal for quite some time. Yao constantly stated that he would be re-energized if Ivan were to donate some blood. Ivan wasn't sure that having the spirit re-energized was, in fact, a good idea. The days became longer as the season waned to winter. Ivan had a pot plant inside, simply so Yao could come in on snowy days and they could curl up by the fire together. Their conversations were short and sweet, and it was more often than not that they shared a comfortable silence. Things were good.

"Ivan!" gasped Yao one evening as they lay by the crackling hearth, he in his human form simply for the reason of being able to curl up in Ivan's lap. Ivan looked down to where he had been petting the spirit's hair, and gave a lopsided smile.

"Yes, Yao? Do I need to go and water my pot plant again?" He asked rather sweetly.

"No," he huffed, rolling over and staring up at the former lumberjack. Well, he was working at a flower shop now. He rolled over and stared up at the florist. "I've never thanked you, have I?"

Ivan glanced up in thought, before returning his eyes to Yao. "No, I don't think you have, even after all these months."

"Thank you," Yao huffed, gently punching at Ivan's chest. "For being my voice, and for giving me your delicious blood."

"And..?"

"And finding me a new home!" he growled, pale cheeks visibly reddened even in the room only lit by firelight. "I miss the forest dearly, but I believe I can put up with the loss if I have you," Yao puffed, as if he was angry to be speaking such sentiments.

"I want to look after you," Ivan assured with a nod. "Would it be fickle to say that I am in love with a spirit of the forest?"

"Very much so," wheezed Yao, who leant forward and bumped his forehead to Ivan's. "You are a very fickle and ridiculous human. I have never been in love before this. I suppose I am the unpredictable one."

Growing old had never been a part of the equation. Yao had forgotten that humans were gone in the blink of an eye. He never even noticed Ivan was growing wrinkles and laugh lines. He never noticed how Ivan began to stoop when he walked. He never noticed the cough, or the infrequencies in Ivan's time home. What was a hospital again?

"Yao?" Ivan said quietly, hobbling out to the garden and glancing first to the young trees that cast their shade over a dozing Yao. "Yao, surely you can't be napping now. It's almost midday."

Yao blinked his eyes open, before smiling widely and bouncing over to Ivan. "Good morning!" he sang, throwing his arms widely around the man and pecking messy kisses all over his pockmarked face. Ivan rolled his eyes and gently pushed Yao back downward, a hand on either shoulder. He then pressed his cracked lips to the spirit's forehead, and pet his cheek softly.

"Be gentle, alright?" he laughed quietly, fixing up the small tubes that supplied him oxygen through to his lungs via nose. Yao had dislodged them from their proper place. Erratic little spirit.

He pulled along the small oxygen tank behind him, and sat under one of the trees, Yao following him with a sweet smile, and plopping himself down. At one point, Ivan had seen about rescuing some of the sweetgrass from the ruins of the forest, and planting it into his yard. Nowadays it grew in long and thick clumps, which Yao loved to roll in or nibble at. Ivan had settled in one now, and Yao was pleased with his decision.

"Yao," Ivan started, taking the spirit's chin and thumb and forefinger and tilting it upward. Their eyes met, Ivan's a dulling violet, and Yao's still luminescent amber. "You're so beautiful."

"I know," Yao smiled cheekily, and shuffled up to nip at Ivan's lips. "You're beautiful too. When can we have sex again?"

"About that, Yao," Ivan's smile dwindled and fell, and he let Yao crawl into his lap to be pet. He ran his thick and wrinkled fingers through Yao's silky hair, and took as deep a breath as he could. "I'm old now."

"What? No you're not, you're only about.." Yao trailed off in thought, looking on his fingers to count. "You're only eighty-nine."

"Humans don't live as long as your kind do," Ivan pointed out. "Didn't I tell you about that condition I have now?"

"The canter?" he frowned.

"Cancer."

"Canter?" Yao huffed, rolling over and staring up at Ivan. "That's why you have the stems from your nose?"

"I tried to keep it from you, but I began smoking years ago," he frowned. "Remember the season where I couldn't pay any of the bills and my power got cut?" Ivan asked softly. "I needed something for stress relief. Cigarettes are very addictive."

"That is why you smelled bad!" the spirit puffed.

"Yes. I quit after a year or two," he laughed sadly. "Cigarettes are also very bad for you. I have been extremely lucky to live this long."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Yao frowned, getting worried. "Ivan?"

"The florists' is shutting down. I sold the building to a smart young man in a navy suit." Ivan said.

"What!" Yao gasped. "But why! I loved your flower store very much!"

"I will no longer be there to run it," Ivan explained softly. "Yao, I am dying." Yao seemed to tense in fear, and then hurriedly clutched on to Ivan's shirt.

"No, you cannot be dying!" he whimpered, trying to appear strong despite the sniveling he was doing. "You are my little human!"

Ivan sighed and kissed the top of Yao's head, as if doing so would offer some kind of comfort. "And you are my forest spirit."

"I-I can put my life force into you again! It worked the last time you were dying!" Yao gasped quickly, and nipped at Ivan's shoulder worriedly.

"Yao, don't," Ivan warned softly, and Yao froze on command. "That was dying in a different way. Even if you tried to heal me, the results would be the same."

"Why did you not tell me earlier!" Yao whimpered. "I could have fixed you then!"

"I'm not some doll you can keep patching up with your own soul each time I become damaged or dirty."

"Ivan, I love you-" Yao whispered with a dry throat. "You can't be dying, I-"

"I'm apparently going to be leaving any day now." Ivan stated quietly, running now-shaky fingers through Yao's hair. "But I can feel myself being pulled today."

"Ivan!" Yao squeaked in pain, and held him tightly. "Ivan, no!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm very tired," Ivan sighed. "Yao, I love you. Even if my body is no longer here, I will continue to love you from the next life."

"Stop it- Stop talking like that!" Yao snarled, scratching gently at Ivan's skin. It tore with such ease, it no longer took effort to scratch. "I love you!- Ivan-"

"Shh," Ivan smiled and went a little more limp against Yao. He let out a hoarse laugh, coughed, and managed out his final words. "Please don't cry, mighty spirit of the forest."

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**the end uwu**

**hope u enjoyed! relatively happy ending :')) the happiest i could muster sorry**

**ahah oh boy please review and favourite and the like!**

**my writing muse is dwindling so sorry for the slow updates aiyah**


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